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24 Jul 2024

The Joker Catches A Judicial Body In New ‘Joker: Folie Ą Deux’ Trailer

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Joker: Folie À Deux

Source: YouTube / Warner Bros. Pictures

Sony might’ve screwed the pooch when they attempted to give Marvel villains their own spin-off films that no one asked for (Venom, Morbius, Kraven The Hunter, etc.), but Warner Bros. struck box office gold when Joker hit theaters in 2019. With the sequel just a few months away, it’ll be interesting to see if they can replicate not only the box office receipts of the first, but also the critical acclaim as well.

Yesterday, Warner Bros. released it’s second trailer for the upcoming Todd Phillips film, which features Joaquin Phoenix’s iteration of the Clown Prince of Crime and his “infectious” laughter. Taking place after the events of the first installment, Joker: Folie Ą Deux finds Arthur Fleck aka The Joker locked up in Arkham Asylum awaiting trial for his many crimes. Surprisingly enough, there is where he meets his new love interest, Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga), who not only brings the music out of his soul but also dances it away with him in what’s sure to be some interesting musical numbers.

Though Zazie Beetz might’ve rejected Arthur’s advances in the first film, it seems like Lady Gaga is more than happy to reciprocate Joker’s feelings in the sequel and join him on a Natural Born Killers-ish adventure that will lead to the Joker not only defending himself in court in full clown makeup, but also murder the judge?! We can’t wait for this musical.

Check out the latest trailer to Joker: Folie Ą Deux, and let us know if you’ll be checking for it when it hits theaters on Oct. 4 in the comments section below.



24 Jul 2024

Watch Taylor Swift Give Flavor Flav a Cute Shout-Out From the Eras Tour Stage in Hamburg

Even Taylor Swift has to pay her respects to the king. After spotting Flavor Flav — aka “King Swiftie” — in the crowd at her first Eras Tour show in Hamburg, Germany, the 34-year-old pop star took a moment to give him a sweet shout-out from the stage.

In a video posted by the rapper on X Tuesday (July 23), Swift stands underneath a rainstorm of confetti while preparing to wrap up her three-hour-plus show at Volksparkstadion. She then locks eyes with him and excitedly mouths, “Flavor Flav!” before pointing at him with a big smile on her face.

“It’s the guy from Public Enemy also known as KING SWIFTIE,” Flav captioned the clip. “Coming straight to Germany to see me,!!! Shout out back to @taylorswift13 @taylornation13 and her team and family for having me,!!! ??????”

Trending on Billboard

The 65-year-old hip-hop star also showed off a gift he seemingly received from another Swiftie in Germany: a name plate reading “Flavor Flav, King Swiftie.” “Ya boy appreciates the love and everything every Swiftie as ever given or sent me,,, ??” he wrote, sharing a video of him dancing with the present to Lady Gaga’s “Applause,” which was part of Swift’s pre-show music.

Flav’s trip to Hamburg comes more than a year after he attended his first Eras Tour show in Detroit, which he later revealed was the impetus of his Swiftiehood. “It started because I got a girl that lives in Detroit and her kids wanted to go to the Eras Tour concert,” he said on Hot 97’s Ebro in the Morning radio show in January. “So my manager got in contact with Taylor Swift’s people and they hooked me up some tickets and passes … a lot of these fans were coming up to me — these young kids, man, I’m surprised they even knew who I was! — and they start giving me these friendship bracelets.”

“Her fanbase embraced me, and I embraced them back,” he added at the time. “So, I went home and I started really listening to Taylor. I’m listening to her music, and I’m like, ‘Yo, this girl is dope!’ She’s writing a lot about experiences that she goes through in life, just like a Mary J. Blige.”

Flav has since been vocal in his love for Swift, and is quick to come to her defense, such as the time he dissed Jo Koy for making a jab at the pop star during his Golden Globes monologue. He’s snapped a few photos with the “Anti-Hero” singer at award shows, and attended her Eras Tour concert film premiere in October.

See Flavor Flav’s posts from the Eras Tour show in Hamburg below.

24 Jul 2024

Latin Is the Fastest-Growing Music Genre in the U.S.

Latin music is the fastest-growing core music genre in the U.S., according to Luminate’s 2024 Midyear Music Report, released last week. And the power driver behind the growth is regional Mexican music.

When ranking by share point growth for the first half of 2024 compared to the first half of 2023, Latin music outpaced genres like country, pop and rock. Latin — which is not a genre per se, but is the name given to music performed predominantly in Spanish — registered a 15.1% growth in on-demand audio streaming volume. This resulted in a total share point growth of 0.51% for the first half of 2024, far more than rock and pop (whose share growth was less than 0.3%) or country and Christian (with a less than 0.2% share growth).

Latin music’s growth has been fueled by two major factors. One is the growth of regional Mexican music, which is now the largest Latin subgenre in the U.S. The other is the fact that new music releases are streamed at a far bigger scale in Latin than in any other genre of music, suggesting that young Latin listeners are over-consuming music, a fact that has been measured by Luminate in different Latin countries before.

Trending on Billboard

Luminate

Luminate

Courtesy of Luminate

According to Luminate, on-demand audio streams of regional Mexican music for the first half of 2024 stood at 13.2 million streams. That was more than Latin pop (12 million streams), Latin rhythm (10.8 million streams) and Latin tropical (2.4 million streams).

When looking at Luminate’s comparison of the “release age” composition for genre, Latin’s consumption of current music — music released within the prior 18 months — outpaces all other genres significantly. Latin genre streaming leans the most current at 35%, followed by country at around 30%. In comparison, R&B/hip-hop current streaming is at 25%. By the same token, deep catalog streaming — defined by Luminate as music older than 60 months — is lowest for Latin (close to 40%) when compared to other genres; in rock, for example, 70.5% of streams come from music older than 60 months.

The stats for Latin music are even more remarkable considering that 32% of its streams come from ad-supported on-demand video or audio, more than all other genres. This means the number of average streams needed to equal an album equivalent is higher for Latin than for other kinds of music, whose streaming consumption of premium streams is higher.

Regional Mexican, which encompasses a broad range of Mexican music subgenres, including norteño, banda, mariachi and corridos, had been the leading subgenre of Latin music in the U.S. for decades, in part because people of Mexican descent account for the vast majority of the Latin population in the country. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2022, there were approximately 37.4 million people of Mexican origin living in the United States, making up nearly 60% of the country’s Hispanic population, a percentage that’s remained relatively unchanged for decades.

Luminate

Luminate

Courtesy of Luminate

But when reggaetón took over Latin music’s charts 20 years ago, the popularity of regional Mexican declined. Now, fueled by an infusion of brash new acts, regional Mexican is dominating charts and consumption.

According to Luminate, four Latin artists earned more than 100 million U.S. on-demand audio streams through the first half of 2024. Outside of Bad Bunny, who is the No. 1-streaming Latin music artist overall, those other three were Regional Mexican artists: Peso Pluma, Fuerza Regida and Junior H.

The growth of regional Mexican in the U.S. reflects a broader international trend. According to the report, Mexico is the top country to grow in global audio streaming share (based on artist country of origin), jumping from 5.29% in 2023 to 6.03% in 2024.

This suggests the base of Mexican music, and Mexican fandom, is not only strong, but has vast room for growth, continuing to fuel consumption in the U.S. and beyond.

24 Jul 2024

Here’s Who Snoop Dogg Would Have on His ‘Dream Team’ If Rapping Were an Olympic Sport

Snoop Dogg is completing another side mission in life when he joins NBC as part of the coverage slated for the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics. While breakdancing is now an Olympic sport, rapping won’t be at the Olympic Games in Paris. However, if there were a team for rap at the Games, Snoop Dogg knows the three hip-hop legends he’d be taking with him to represent the United States.

“Definitely would take Eminem,” Snoop tells Billboard on a Wednesday morning (July 24) conference call from Paris. “Gotta have that global experience. I definitely would take Rakim. Old school. Then I would go grab a female. I’d go grab Queen Latifah. Just so that way, I got some royalty. Then, naturally, I gotta take Snoop Dogg. Come on, man. What are we talking about? I mean, dream team. Let’s go.”

Trending on Billboard

With Snoop joined by Rakim, Eminem and Queen Latifah, were rapping an actual Olympic sport, he’d be bringing quite the potent mix of rhyming icons with him as part of Team USA, with his picks boasting plenty of experience in the hip-hop realm.

It’s slated to be a very busy few weeks in France for Snoop Dogg once the Opening Ceremony kicks off the Olympic Games on Friday night (July 26). He’ll join NBC’s Mike Tirico as part of Primetime In Paris, which will provide wall-to-wall coverage of Olympic competitions, and will go behind the scenes with some of the world’s favorite athletes.

Snoop Dogg will also be serving as a torchbearer at the 2024 Summer Olympics. The Death Row alum is set to carry the lit-up torch through the streets of Saint-Denis in northern Paris.

“It says a lot about America as far as where we at in this world,” he said later in the call about having the torchbearer honor bestowed upon him. “I look at it as a prestigious honor. I would’ve never truly dreamed of something like this. I’ma be on my best behavior. I’ma be on my best athleticism. I’ll be able to breath slow, walk fast and have a smile on my face.”

Snoop continued, “I’m thinking back to Muhammad Ali and when Muhammad Ali was holding it. It was emotional for all of us to see the champ holding that torch and walking it up there. That’s what it feels like to me. My own version of it.”

The Opening Ceremony is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC and will be streaming on Peacock.

24 Jul 2024

Eminem Tops 7 Billion U.K. Streams, Receives Brit Billion Award

Eminem could tweak the lyric of one of his most famous hits to “Love the Way You Stream.” The American rapper has received a Brit Billion Award by the BPI, which represents the U.K.’s leading music companies. The award recognizes artists who have achieved more than one billion U.K. career streams – a mark that Eminem has met seven times over. He has reached seven billion U.K. streams, as calculated by the Official Charts Company.

Fifteen of Eminem’s songs have been certified multiplatinum in the U.K. His top three most streamed hits – “Without Me,” the Oscar-winning “Lose Yourself” and “Love the Way You Lie” featuring Rihanna — have accumulated more than 770 million U.K. streams.

Eminem has amassed 11 No. 1 hits on the Official U.K. Singles chart and 11 No. 1 albums on the Official U.K. Albums chart. (By way of comparison, he has landed five No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and 11 No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200.)

Trending on Billboard

A total of 39 artists have been recognized with a Brit Billion award. The roster includes global icons such as Green Day, The Rolling Stones, Queen, ABBA and Whitney Houston; pioneering rap and hip-hop artists including AJ Tracey and Headie One; and chart-dominating pop artists and singer-songwriters, including Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Camila Cabello, Lewis Capaldi and Raye. 

The Brit Billion award, which officially launched in 2023, reflects the extent to which streaming has transformed the music landscape over the past decade. More than 85% of the U.K.’s recorded music consumption now takes place through streaming. In 2023 there were a record 180 billion audio streams in the U.K. In the U.K., more than 2,000 artists now annually amass at least 10 million audio streams, while more than 10,000 artists are streamed over a million times.

24 Jul 2024

Every Latin Artist With Over 5 Videos in YouTube’s Billion Views Club

YouTube established its coveted “Billion Views Club” in 2012, when Psy’s “Gangnam Style” made history as the first-ever music video to hit one billion views on the platform.

Since then, countless music videos have formed part of the elite music video club, including those of Latin acts such as Karol G, Daddy Yankee, Christian Nodal, Becky G, Myke Towers, Romeo Santos and Los Angeles Azules.

To date, the fastest Latin music video to reach one billion views was “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, surpassing the impressive number in only 97 days. “Mi Gente” by J Balvin and Willy William followed, reaching one billion views in 103 days.

With more than eight billion views, the former is currently the second-most-watched music video, overall, on YouTube — behind just Pinkfong’s “Baby Shark,” but above Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s “See You Again,” Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You,” and “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars, to name a few.

Balvin, on the other hand, is the Latin artist with the most music videos in the Club, having racked up 15 in total at the time of publishing.

“The Billion Views Club represents the diverse mix of global sounds and voices that have helped make YouTube the home of music,” YouTube Music Trends manager Kevin Meenan explained in a YouTube blog post. “The list serves as a reminder of the power of the visual pairing with a great song, with the music video – alongside features like Premieres and Shorts — serving as the ultimate way for artists to share their art and vision directly with fans.”

Below, check out every Latin artist — as a lead, featured artist or collaborator — with more than five music videos to enter YouTube’s Billion Views Club:

24 Jul 2024

Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart Connects Music & Sports in New ESPN Film ‘Rhythm Masters’: Watch the Trailer

Music and sports have always been interconnected, and ESPN is diving into the bridge between the two in the upcoming film Rhythm Masters: A Mickey Hart Experience.

Hart, the beloved Grateful Dead and Dead & Company drummer, will take viewers on a “sonic journey as he creates an original score inspired by conversations with legendary and iconic voices from the world of sports,” according to the film’s synopsis. “His breath-taking score combined with insight from athletes helps show the depths of the universal rhythm found in music, sports, and life.”

Rhythm Masters

Rhythm Masters

The athletes set to be featured in the film include Phil Jackson, Joe Montana, Laila Ali, Ronnie Lott, Marshawn Lynch, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Sheryl Swoopes, Ozzie Smith, Mario Andretti, Jack Nicklaus, Mike Piazza, Mark Messier, Alex Honnold, Mikaela Shiffrin, Rush Sturges, Alessia Zecchini, Bob Cousy and the late Bill Walton, a noted Deadhead and a world-class basketball star and NBA coach. In a trailer for the film, premiering on Billboard below, Hart is heard saying: “He who knows the rhythm, knows the world.”

Trending on Billboard

“Rhythm is the heartbeat of life, and it’s everywhere — in the music we create and the sports we love. When I set out to make Rhythm Masters: A Mickey Hart Experience, my goal was to explore this universal pulse and celebrate how music and sports are deeply intertwined,” the rocker shared in a statement. “Through the voices and stories of some of the greatest athletes, we uncover the profound connection that rhythm brings to their performance and passion. This film is a journey into that shared human experience, a testament to the power of rhythm in uniting us all. We dedicate this film to Bill Walton, whose own rhythmic journey in sports and life has been a true inspiration.” 

Rhythm Masters: A Mickey Hart Experience is directed by Torey Champagne and produced by ESPN Films, Bluefoot Entertainment and Fresh Features. The film will premiere on ESPN and ESPN+ on August 14. Watch the trailer below.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=AwjV1fVVEfI&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

24 Jul 2024

Sly FOX News Host Calls Zeta Phi Beta A “Colored Sorority” While Criticizing Kamala Harris, Xitter Dragging Commences

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Fox Weather Covers Solar Eclipse Live

Source: John Lamparski / Getty

With VP Kamala Harris now officially running for President, the alleged racists on the Right are foaming at the mouth. Case in point, on Tuesday morning (July 24), during a segment on Fox and Friends discussing Harris choosing not to attend Isreal Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressing Congress, host Brian Kilemeade called historically Black sorority Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. a “colored sorority.”

“She’d rather address, in the summer, a sorority…a colored sorority, like she can’t get outta that!,” said Kilmeade. Yes, we are in 2024, and “colored” has entered the chat. By the way, that’s an outdated, racist way to describe a person of color (big difference).

Instead of watching Trump’s buddy Netanyahu kick propaganda, VP Harris will be attending and speaking Zeta Phi Beta’s national convention in New Orleans. Despite the Black Greek Lettered Organization’s storied history—it was founded in 1920 on the campus of Howard University and its rolls of accomplished members (Sheryl Underwood, Dionne Warwick) who are Black women—Kilmeade figures Harris should just cancel.

Wait until he finds out Harris is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., thus the respect is there. But the context would probably fly over his allegedly bigoted head.

The FOX News nitwit is currently getting dragged for all the filth, and deservedly so. Shout out to the Black man on the panel—Lawrence Jones III—who sat there like a soft shoe clown while the white guy went full racist, allegedly. Even white people saw the jig.

24 Jul 2024

Watch Timothée Chalamet Sing as Bob Dylan in First ‘A Complete Unknown’ Trailer

The first trailer for A Complete Unknown arrived Wednesday (July 24), giving fans their first substantial glimpse at Timothée Chalamet‘s physical and vocal transformation into Bob Dylan while telling the story of the iconic folk singer-songwriter’s rise to fame — as well as the controversial moment he switched to an electric guitar at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.

The reel opens with Chalamet — sporting a gruff tan jacket, his dark curly hair teased in true Dylan style — performing the living legend’s early hit “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” on a small stage, following an introduction from Edward Norton’s Pete Seeger. “Oh where have you been, my blue-eyed son?” he croons, mimicking Dylan’s instantly recognizable warble and Minnesota accent.

As he sings, the two-minute teaser cuts to shots of Chalamet walking the streets of 1960s New York City, romancing Elle Fanning’s Sylvie Russo — a character inspired by Dylan’s past girlfriend artist Suze Rotolo, who famously appeared alongside him on the cover of The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan — and falling for Monica Barbaro’s Joan Baez. All the while, his stages and crowds get bigger and bigger.

Trending on Billboard

Fans only get to hear the Dune star speak as Dylan once in the trailer, when the video cuts back to him working on “A Hard Rain” before his life changed forever. “That’s all I got so far,” he grunts.

The trailer comes just four months after fans first spotted Chalamet filming as Dylan in New York. Last year, director James Mangold confirmed that the actor would do his own singing for the flick, which hits theaters this December. To prepare, the Wonka star says he sifted through 12 hours’ worth of unreleased Dylan songs, sent to him by the musician’s longtime manager and A Complete Unknown producer Jeff Rosen.

Also starring Boyd Holbrook, Dan Fogler, Norbert Leo Butz and Scoot McNairy, the biographical drama was inspired by Elijah Wald’s 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric. Mangold revealed last year that the “Blowin’ in the Wind” artist personally gave feedback on the script.

Watch the first trailer for A Complete Unknown starring Timothée Chalamet above.

24 Jul 2024

SAY HER NAME: X Flooded With Outrage After Body-Cam Footage of Sonya Massey’s Murder At The Hands of Police Is Released

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Sonya Massey's Fatal Shooting Sparks Social Media Outrage

Source: Wikipedia / Sonya Massey

Imagine being a Black woman who called the police and only ended up being shot dead in your home; that was the sad and tragic reality for Sonya Massey.

*Trigger warning: this article contains detailed descriptions of violence.*

Outrage has taken over social media after body-camera footage of the fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman, who was gunned down by the same police she called for help.

The footage was released as part of the case against Sangamon County Sheriff Deputy Sean Grayson, who has been slapped with murder charges.

The 36-minute chilling video (we will not be sharing) via the Illinois State Police includes body-camera footage that shows two Sangamon County Sheriff Deputies who came to Massey’s house after midnight on July 6th after Massey called 911 to report a “prowler” at her Springfield home, court documents revealed.

Per CNN:

In the footage, deputy Sean Grayson and another deputy speak calmly with Massey in her home when she goes to the stove to turn off a pot of boiling water. She then picks up the pot and the other deputy steps back, “away from your hot steaming water,” he says.

“I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” she says in response.

“Huh?” the deputy says.

“I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” she repeats.

“You better f**king not or I swear to God I’ll f**king shoot you in the f**king face,” Grayson says.

He then draws his firearm and points it at her, and she ducks and says, “I’m sorry” while lifting the pot, the video shows.

“Drop the f**king pot!” both deputies yell.

Three shots are heard. After a few seconds of silence, one deputy says “shots fired” and calls for emergency medical services.

“Dude, I’m not taking f**king boiling water to the f**king head. And look, it came right to our feet, too,” Grayson says.

Minutes after the shooting, Grayson speaks to another law enforcement figure. “She had boiling water and came at me with boiling water,” he says in the video. “She said she was going to rebuke me in the name of Jesus and came at (me) with boiling water.”

The Outrage Is Loud & Clear On Social Media

The release of the video comes two weeks after the fatal shooting and days after Grayson was charged with Massey’s death.

A grand jury indicted Grayson, 30, on three counts of first-degree murder and one count each of aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct.

According to court records, he entered a plea of not guilty.

As expected, the outrage about this latest death of a Black person at the hands of law enforcement is very loud on social media.

“A Black woman in her own home called 911 due to a burglar in her home. This officer came in and shot her and refused for his partner to render aid to her. Say her name: Sonya Massey. Don’t remain silent. Stand up for her and fight. This should not have happened…,” one user on X, formerly Twitter, wrote. 

Civil Rights attorney Ben Crump wrote on X, “Violence against Black women MUST STOP! We must demand FULL JUSTICE for Sonya Massey!”

President Biden and Vice President Harris condemned the shooting, calling on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

You can see more reactions in the gallery below.